For older kids with autism and their siblings, their are support groups through the support group resources provided on the LOCAL SUPPORT GROUPS AND EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES page. It is important to remember siblings to and get them involved and supported for what they go through. The entire family is affected by autism.
Another important component for kids with autism is socialization and learning social skills. Social skills do not come naturally for these kids. There are many social skills groups, however, make sure you do your research on this and learn about the training of the people running the social skills groups. For this, you really want a professional with experience in Social Work, Counseling, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Speech Therapy, or Special Education. It is also important to ask in advance what kind of content will be used and how will the social skills group be conducted. You want to make sure it is a good fit for your family values and a good fit that respects your child. I have never used or known of Trellis Services, however found this link for social groups. http://www.trellisservices.com/services/sociallink
Here is a link for people with autism to find friends with autism. There are some in several states including Maryland with a list of meeting times and dates. http://autism-social-group.meetup.com/
Other fun stuff for kids with autism that have been proven successful and supportive are:
Horseback riding: Here is a local Maryland link for therapeutic riding where the child with autism gets specialized support customized to their needs. http://www.trrcmd.org/Welcome.html
Swimming is another good activity for some kids with autism. It took my son 5 years to appreciate swimming and there was no way he was getting in but with continued exposure over time little by little with support and love and without pressure...HE LOVES THE WATER NOW. It's a great way to burn some of his boundless energy and nervousness but it took a lot of time and pretty much MOM love. We use the central Maryland YMCA and we use the Catonsville location because my son seems to do much better with a salt water pool instead of chlorine. Here is the YMCA link. http://ymaryland.org/membership/member-special-offer
We do not use the YMCA for camps for our son with autism yet because the summer staff are young and transient. However, we used this organization and they were phenomenal. I would highly recommend for anyone with a kids interested in science and has the ability to attend a full day camp. This camp is set up differently per location and runs for weekly sessions in the summer. There are other opportunities to with this organization and here is the link: Camp Scientific. http://www.clubscientific.com/
For older kids with autism and their siblings, their are support groups through the support group resources provided on the LOCAL SUPPORT GROUPS AND EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES page. It is important to remember siblings to and get them involved and supported for what they go through. The entire family is affected by autism.
Another important component for kids with autism is socialization and learning social skills. Social skills do not come naturally for these kids. There are many social skills groups, however, make sure you do your research on this and learn about the training of the people running the social skills groups. For this, you really want a professional with experience in Social Work, Counseling, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Speech Therapy, or Special Education. It is also important to ask in advance what kind of content will be used and how will the social skills group be conducted. You want to make sure it is a good fit for your family values and a good fit that respects your child. I have never used or known of Trellis Services, however found this link for social groups.
http://www.trellisservices.com/services/sociallink
Here is a link for people with autism to find friends with autism. There are some in several states including Maryland with a list of meeting times and dates.
http://autism-social-group.meetup.com/
Other fun stuff for kids with autism that have been proven successful and supportive are:
Horseback riding: Here is a local Maryland link for therapeutic riding where the child with autism gets specialized support customized to their needs.
http://www.trrcmd.org/Welcome.html
Swimming is another good activity for some kids with autism. It took my son 5 years to appreciate swimming and there was no way he was getting in but with continued exposure over time little by little with support and love and without pressure...HE LOVES THE WATER NOW. It's a great way to burn some of his boundless energy and nervousness but it took a lot of time and pretty much MOM love. We use the central Maryland YMCA and we use the Catonsville location because my son seems to do much better with a salt water pool instead of chlorine. Here is the YMCA link.
http://ymaryland.org/membership/member-special-offer
We do not use the YMCA for camps for our son with autism yet because the summer staff are young and transient. However, we used this organization and they were phenomenal. I would highly recommend for anyone with a kids interested in science and has the ability to attend a full day camp. This camp is set up differently per location and runs for weekly sessions in the summer. There are other opportunities to with this organization and here is the link: Camp Scientific.
http://www.clubscientific.com/